Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Padron Peppers!

Have you tasted Padron peppers? I tried some for the first time in Boulder recently, they were delicious--but a little bit spicy.

Over the weekend, we saw fresh ones for sale at the big Portland Farmers' Market. Julie and Kim started to giggle when they saw 'em, they're that good--they bring otherwise stoic ladies into fits of glee. So they each bought a big bag, and because I am a sucker for peer pressure and hate being left out, I bought a big bag, too.

Do you know what some folks say about Padrones? "Os pementos de Padrón, uns pican e outros non," which means, "Padron peppers, some are hot and some are not," in a very special language called Gallego (thanks, Sarah!). It's true, too!Kim fixed ours for us yesterday; in cast iron, with a little olive oil over medium high heat until small blisters developed and they filled with steam. Then we topped ours with truffle salt. According to the PPK, some truffle stuff is not vegan (due to animal practices), so I need to ask the truffle salt people about their trufflers at the next market...

But, hot dog! These were really really good! Most of 'em were very mellow, but everyone once in a while I got one with just a little bit of heat. Delicious! When you eat 'em, you eat the whole pepper, seeds 'n' all, just leave off the little stem. Their texture reminded me a bit of marinated okra--the way the seeds pop a little in your mouth.xokittee

This post is part of VeganMoFo 2010 - the Vegan Month of Food. Get more MoFo info by checking out VeganMoFo Headquarters Itn'l, where you can subscribe to a bunch of vegan blogs and ohh and ahh to your heart's content.

i saw that on the PPK boards just yesterday - never thought about it. i've also never heard of pardon peppers - i learned somethin' new today. w00t! i like how each pepper is a surprise - is it gonna be hot or not? awesome. i might have to get some pardon pepper seeds and grow 'em next season. dan and i grew fish, purple jalapeno, habanero, and tabasco peppers this year and loved them all. dan wants to add ghost peppers in next year and i'm kinda scared 'cause i hear they're crazy hot. i'd love to add another pepper to the family - pardon peppers it shall be. thanks, kittee!

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